I mean when choosing between two imperialist powers choosing the weaker one does increase your independence, and between Russia and France France probably has more clout in Central Africa.
On the other hand Wagner is more likely to take your entire family hostage if you go off script.
Honestly, was France acting imperialistic in any of its former colonies? I never heard anything bad coming from France’s “allies”, except for that one island that still is under direct french control.
You never heard about anything bad because we were slightly less bad than some of our neighbors.
In reality, the countries we had dominion over fared relatively well compared to say… What Belgium did. But they would have been far better without us plundering their natural resources for fun and profit.
The works of Verschave and Beti reported a forty-year, post-independence relationship with France’s former colonial peoples, which featured colonial garrisons in situ and monopolies by French multinational corporations, usually for the exploitation of mineral resources. It was argued that the African leaders with close ties to France—especially during the Soviet–American Cold War (1945–1992)—acted more as agents of French business and geopolitical interests than as the national leaders of sovereign states. Cited examples are Omar Bongo (Gabon), Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Ivory Coast), Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo), Denis Sassou-Nguesso (Republic of the Congo), Idriss Déby (Chad), and Hamani Diori (Niger).
